Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the road safety strategy on deaths and serious injuries from cycling and walking.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Road Safety Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. This target will focus the efforts of road safety partners across Britain, with measures to protect vulnerable road users, update vehicle safety technologies and review motoring offences.
One of the Safety Performance Indicators which will be monitored alongside delivery of the Strategy is: the rate of cyclists/pedestrians killed or seriously injured on England’s roads, measured as the number of fatalities and serious injuries per billion miles walked and cycled. Monitoring this should enable government to understand the impact that the Strategy is having on deaths and serious injuries of those cycling or walking.
Our roads aren’t just for motorists; it is vitally important that everyone using our roads is kept safe. With that in mind on the 10 December 2025 we announced that we are allocating £626 million for local authorities from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling schemes.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what will be the remit of the new Road Safety Investigation Branch in relation to cycling and e-bikes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is a key priority. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government is working hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users including cyclists.
The detailed remit of the Road Safety Investigation Branch is still to be determined, but it will be built around the core objectives of the Data-led Road Safety Investigation Branch, namely using large cross-sector datasets and connected vehicle data to identify risks and thematic priorities, and providing insights and recommendations to support continuous safety learning and decision-making.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for taking legislative steps to develop a regulatory framework for low and zero emission vehicles, following the commitment in the Road Safety Strategy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As stated in the Road Safety Strategy, the Government has made a commitment to pursue legislative reform for micromobility vehicles when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of compensating victims of collisions involving illegal e-scooters and e-bikes on (a) the cost of motor insurance premiums for other motorists and (b) costs to the Motor Insurers' Bureau in the last 12 months.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We regularly engage with the Motor Insurer’s Bureau and are working with them to understand the impact of private e-scooters and illegal e-bikes on car drivers’ insurance premiums.
It is clear the law on e-scooters needs to change, which is why the Government has committed to pursuing legislative reform for micromobility vehicles when parliamentary time allows. Any future regulations, including potential insurance requirements, will be publicly consulted on before they come into force.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the data opportunities of connected and autonomous vehicles to reduce uninsured driving.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 sets out the regulations for insurance requirements of automated vehicles. The operator or owner of an automated vehicle must hold a policy of insurance that satisfies the conditions in section 145 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
The recent call for evidence, launched in December 2025, seeks views on various aspects of the automated vehicles regulatory framework, including insurance. Responses received will support future consultation on the proposed regulations, with full implementation of the Act anticipated by the second half of 2027.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of unlawful number plates on (a) the ability of the police to trace hit-and-run drivers and (b) efforts to reduce the proportion of untraced driver claims handled by the Motor Insurers' Bureau.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
While those specific assessments have not been made, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime. On-road enforcement of number plate and insurance offences is a matter for the police.
The Government published its Road Safety Strategy on 7 January, setting out its vision for a safer future on our roads for all. As part of this, the Department for Transport is reviewing motoring offences and has published a consultation which seeks views on the introduction of penalty points and vehicle seizure for the offence of being in charge of a motor vehicle with an incorrect/altered/false number plate. The consultation can be found online at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 98632, how many visits the DVSA has made to retailers selling e-scooters; and how many incidences the DVSA have recorded of e-scooters being sold illegally or without proper guidance of legal restrictions.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the number of retailers the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has checked from March 2022 to April 2025.
2022-2023 | 93 |
2023-2024 | 58 |
2024-2025 | 47 |
The table below shows many incidents DVSA has recorded of e-scooters being sold illegally or without proper guidance of legal restrictions, for the same time period.
2022-2023 | 79 |
2023-2024 | 41 |
2024-2025 | 42 |
Please note, high level of non-compliance found in 24-25 FY is due to poor levels of compliance being found in the on-line marketplace. In that year DVSA’s market surveillance unit (MSU) looked into higher proportions sold in on-line markets due to apparent shifts in the way such items are sold.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what interactions the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has had with food delivery companies in reference to vehicles used by delivery drivers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) recognises that last-mile delivery, including food delivery services, presents specific safety and compliance challenges. To address these challenges, DVSA has engaged with representatives from the sector and continues to collaborate on the development of guidance and best practice, including hosting a last mile delivery summit.
Operational enforcement activity is also undertaken where appropriate, particularly in relation to light commercial vehicles used within this segment.
In addition, DVSA does support police investigations – for example, by conducting technical assessments of modified “last-mile” fast-food delivery bicycle fitted with electric motors.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the APPG for Cycling and Walking's report entitled Unregulated and Unsafe: The Threat of Illegal E-Bikes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government recognises the concerns raised in the APPG report about the safety of e-bikes which do not comply with regulations and the risks associated with battery fires.
The Product Regulation and Metrology Act which received Royal Assent in July, created the powers to allow Government to change regulations to respond to emerging technologies, including e-bikes, batteries and conversion kits.
The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many registered a) petrol vehicles, b) diesel vehicles, c) electric vehicles, d) hybrid vehicles and e) classic vehicles were there in Edinburgh South West constituency in the last 5 years and the last 10 years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We do not readily hold new vehicle registration figures at the requested geographic level.
Information on licensed vehicles broken down by Upper and lower tier local authorities and lower super output areas (LSOA) are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-licensing-statistics-data-tables